SC Rewind: Big Mutuel Payouts (2/2)

In this week's Rewind, Robert Smith recalls some record-breaking mutuel payoffs and a few of the facts and figures surrounding them along with a rather bizarre story related to wagering. These old tales illustrate why people love to bet on horses; always with the hope of landing that one "big one" despite the overwhelming odds. This is the second and concluding edition of a two part story.

California Couple "Celebrates" Huge Win

(For this story I had to step slightly outside the lines as it is based on a happening with the thoroughbreds but I thought it was just too good to pass up.)

Back in perhaps the 1960's, as I have no exact date, a couple of lucky bettors had quite an evening at the Del Mar Track in Solana Beach, California. After the first race the man in this story cashed in his tickets and received a whopping $30,000 (in cash of course). He placed the money in a paper bag and headed out to the parking lot where he locked the bag in his car. It was then time for he and his wife to return to the track for a few celebratory drinks. Exactly how the rest of the racing card went does not become part of the story.

After the races the man and his wife entered into a rather furious argument as they reached their car. The tipsy and now angry patron snatched the bag of money from the car and began pummeling his wife with it. The sack ripped open and $100 bills were scattered to the wind. Other exiting fans uninterested in the family fight snatched up the bills, carrying away a sizable portion of the winnings. A quote from the files of The Los Angeles Times files describes it best.

"The unhappy tale of the ill-considered $30,000 head bashing at Del Mar points up the fact that some big bettors do walk away from the tracks with near - fortunes in winnings, though some times they may not keep them long."

Windsor Raceway Payoff Sets New Record

On Saturday, March 3, 1973, racing fans at Windsor Raceway got in on a piece of racing history based on the outcome of the fourth race on that afternoon's program. With quadactor wagering offered as well as the usual straight betting, people liked to play with numbers, horses and sometimes unlikely combinations. A pair of men from Windsor and Detroit who chose the four horse combination of as 6-4-1-3 as their selection cashed in a major way.

The winning horse was Gustomar (9-1) driven by George Hewitt, followed by second place finisher Relhom Brenda (Ray Remmen, 5-1), third place went to Donna Duke D (9-1) for Rheal Bourgeois and the fourth place horse was Abbe Cliff at 4-1. The resulting payoff was $32,231.50 for a two-dollar wager. It was listed in the following day's Windsor Star as the largest pari-mutuel payoff in Canadian racing history. This broke the existing record of $28,010.20, also set at Windsor in November of 1972.

Apparently the Windsor fans were in a betting mood that day as a combined day-night crowd of 12,563 bet a total of $1,006,721 on the two cards to establish the track's first ever handle in excess of one million dollars in a single day.

​Officials at Windsor gather to celebrate the track's first one day one-million dollar handle which was achieved on a day-night double header on Saturday March 3, 1973. Wm. Rowe, track President on the far right pours for mutuels chief Claire Hauck while judge Roger Roberge and Mutuels manager Gary Scheets await their turn.(Windsor Star)

Mohawk Sets New Record Daily Double

​

A very lucky and equally happy Wolfgang Hammer on the left receives a pile of cash from Mohawk mutuels manager Doug Hay after winning the Daily Double on August 13, 1968, which set a new record high payout. He was one of five lucky patrons to cash in a winning daily double ticket that day worth just shy of $3,000.

In 1954 The Ontario Jockey Club as we later became to know that entity started summer harness racing at the Old Woodbine track in Toronto. That first season, a large daily double was recorded as Peter M. Grattan and V Volo combined on August 16, 1954 to pay $2,538.45. Only a single winning ticket was purchased that day so one lucky patron took home the entire pool. That record stood for 14 years until a new higher payout was recorded on August 13, 1968. These numbers were regarded as huge payouts back then prior to the introduction of more complicated types of wagering that were introduced in later years.

The horses that set up the new record resulting in a whopping payoff were Cindy Fair, a four-year-old homebred daughter of Flemington -Blondie Fair from the barn of Jack Gordon and his son Garth of Coldsprings, Ont., and Hazy Dares from Fred Giese's Leamington barn. For Cindy Fair, this was her first victory in nine career efforts with Jack in the sulky. She was unraced at two and three. On a win ticket she paid $77.60. Somewhat overlooked in the second, Hazy Dares returned $26.10 to win. The victory with Pat Crowe in the bike was his fifth in just ten outings. This combination resulted in the largest possible daily double payoff listed on the infield tote board.

The payout of $2,923.30 was the largest double ever at a Golden Horseshoe Track up to that time. Mr. Hammer, pictured above, received his winnings in cash from Doug Hay, Mohawk mutuels manager. He admitted he would probably put the money in the bank to pay for a trip back to his native Berlin, Germany which he had left seven years earlier. While the 34-year-old Hammer was pleased with his winnings, he had no intention of resigning from his job in the service department at the Pilkington Glass Co. in Toronto.

In another record payoff of that era the largest win ticket price was recorded at Greenwood on January 22, 1972 when Honey By Alice, reined by Westerner Dave O'Dare, clicked on a payoff of $225.80 for a $2 win ticket.

Largest Canadian Harness Racing Win Ticket Ever

The largest win payoff in Canadian harness racing history occurred on July 26, 1959 at the Laviolette track in Three Rivers, Quebec. I know this stood as the record for many years and whether it has ever been broken I have not been able to ascertain. In any event it was quite a payout for a $2.00 investment. This was also the North American harness horse record pari-mutuel payoff for a $2 win ticket. Writers have often used the phrase Boxcar Figures when a big payoff occurs, this would seem to be one of those times. (Source Golden Horseshoe Fact Book)

On that day driver Gabe Trahan piloted the trotter Pat Kuno to victory at odds of about 560-1 which resulted in a win payoff of $1,120.00. The rest of the ticket paid $120.90 to place and $27.40 to show. Trahan later became the supervisor of racing for the Canadian Trotting Association and is undoubtedly still remembered by many. Although he was always associated with Quebec he was actually born in Swanton, Vermont which is near the Quebec border. A 1986 inductee in the Horse Racing Hall of Fame in the Builders category, he passed away in 2010 at the age of 93.

Bridge Jumpers

The term "Bridge Jumpers" has often been used over the years to describe people who wager huge sums of money to show on extremely short-priced horses. The absolute "sure thing" is the obvious choice. Their theory is that even a payoff of five cents on the dollar is a good return on a very short term investment. Bridge jumping was once much more prevalent back when tracks were obliged to pay a minimum of ten cents on the dollar. Forty or fifty years ago when that was reduced to five cents the incidence of this type of wagering greatly diminished.

I recently read an article quoting a long-time mutuels employee at Hollywood Park in California who had observed a lot of big bettors from his spot at the $50 window. One patron who typified the bridge jumper profile once told him "My limit is $40,000 a day; when I lose that I go home." And that was well over 40 years ago! He also said that usually "Bridge Jumpers" were very organized and usually showed up at his window with their wagers neatly placed in manila envelopes, most often $10,000 in each one.